AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter
One
The world exploded…twice.
The first time was when this so-called goddess who smelled like a flower garden in full bloom gave Hale his powers. He wanted to die. His bones were being ground to dust. Muscles pulled so tight they had to be snapping like worn guitar strings. Sucking in a ragged breath, he opened his eyes expecting to see blood seeping out his pores.
But it wasn’t.
Everything looked fine despite the excruciating pain. His new Weaver brothers stood around him with sympathetic expressions, but no one seemed particularly worried or surprised. Oh, wonderful. Mind-melting pain was par for the course. What else had they forgotten to tell him?
The world exploded again.
This time it was a bit more literal, as something like a Molotov cocktail burst through the front door.
Nothing made sense for several seconds. Hale couldn’t move from where he was curled in a ball on the floor, watching from the corner of his eye as the men scrambled to act, their shouting almost blurring together into nonsense.
“Pestilents!”
“Already?”
“The protective barrier fell when Hale got his powers.”
“Fuck! That was fast.”
“Lucien and Baer, take the front of the house. Calder, you’re out back with me. Grey, protect Hale. Mates, remain inside and away from the windows.” At least Clay barking orders was plain enough.
Hale blinked, trying to clear his brain, fogged by the pain. Wincing, he lifted his head to find the three goddesses were nowhere to be seen. Isn’t that nice? Shit goes crazy, and the goddesses disappear. The Weavers had scattered to their designated positions, but he could hear their shouting and the pounding of heavy footsteps around him.
The soul mates were arguing with Clay that they could do more than hide like scared little bunnies.
Nausea swirled in Hale’s stomach, and he struggled to breathe through it. Right now, he wanted to stay in the bunny camp. His limbs were trembling, and cold sweat covered him, sticking his clothes to his frame.
The pain was slowly starting to ease, and he could take deep breaths without it feeling like razor blades were sawing through his lungs, but he wasn’t up for much more than that.
A week. The goddesses had given him one full week to live with his new Weaver brothers in the Savannah house. They’d told him countless stories about the pestilents, who the Weavers were, and even how they’d all been reincarnated dozens of times over the millennia to fight the pestilents.
And yes, maybe he’d wanted to tell the goddesses there was no reason to put off giving him his powers. He was the Air Weaver—not that he had even the slightest clue as to what the hell that meant. He’d joined Calder and Wiley in many hours of idle speculation about what he might be able to do as the Air Weaver.
In all that time, those bastards hadn’t once told him how badly this was going to hurt. Now he wanted to take back all his wishes to get his powers. He was happy to hand them over if it meant he didn’t hurt anymore. Holy hell, he was sure he could feel every follicle in his scalp, and they all hurt.
Very carefully, Hale inched upright until he was seated on his ass and leaning heavily against one of the sofas. Wow. That was a big step forward. Time for a nap.
But he couldn’t just sit there, a useless lump on the carpet. He had to do something. While he might not entirely understand how it was possible that he was a Weaver, it was clear that this was his current path in life and he had to protect these men who called him brother.
Even now, the constant pop of gunfire filled the air, shattering windows and pounding into the side of the house. There was a goose-bump-inducing roar that sent a shiver down Hale’s spine. That had to be Baer.
For a week, he’d enjoyed watching the man change into everything from a hummingbird to an elephant. Sometimes in the evening, he’d shift into a German Shepherd and play with his dog, Ruby, in the yard. It had all been fun, friendly, and magical.
That tiger’s roar was pure deadly.
“Whoa, there!” A gentle hand settled on Hale’s shoulder and carefully restrained him as he attempted to push himself up onto the sofa. It would have been one step closer to actually getting to his feet, but the big Italian man with the sweet smile was trying to ease him to the floor again. “Probably better if you keep down. There are a hell of a lot of windows in this place.”
“I’ve got to do something. I have these powers, right?” Hale argued.
“Yeah, but do you even know how to use them?” Gio replied, his grin becoming a little crooked. “This isn’t the best environment for experimenting.”
That was so very true, but it wasn’t like he could just sit on the floor, twiddling his thumbs while waiting for everyone else to save his ass. He didn’t mind standing back and observing to learn new things, but people’s lives were on the line.
